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Yemen Burns As NATO Fights Sarkozy's Libyan War

While the United States has been sucked into a Libyan war at the behest of France and the United Kingdom, Yemen, which is a country with the largest operational Al-Qaeda cells is on the verge of civil war.

[Black Star News Editorial]

Yemen is imploding as the NATO countries focus on bombarding oil-rich Libya, led by France's Nicolas Sarkozy, who hopes to boost his dismal polls and political fortunes back home.

Sarkozy now trails Marine Le Pen, leader of the rightwing National Front party by 21% to 23% in polling to assess leaders in France's next presidential elections and it's not surprising that he's been the most Hawkish Western leader in promoting the attacks. France had also recognized the rebels in Benghazi as the legitimate representatives of Libya, hoping to strike a favorable oil deal, should Muammar al-Qathafi be deposed.

Sarkozy's war is similar to the action former President Bill Clinton took when he faced political heat--Clinton bombed a medicine factory in the Sudan.

While the United States has been sucked into a Libyan war at the behest of France and the United Kingdom, Yemen, which is a country with the largest operational Al-Qaeda cells is on the verge of civil war.

This past weekend the U.S-backed Yemeni dictator's government opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators killing nearly 50 and wounding more than 200. As a result, today, scores of Yemeni Army generals defected from the dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh and rallied behind the pro-democracy protestors. The United States is once again behind the curve.

The defecting generals have deployed tanks, as has the U.S.-backed dictator also. Several governors in Yemen and ambassadors overseas have also quit, according to news report.

Yemen is a country that is similar to Somalia in that there are significant clan-based alliances. Should outright civil war erupt in Yemen, one of the primary beneficiaries will be Al-Qaeda in the middle east, which already has significant operations inside Yemen.Yemen might indeed ignite as the NATO countries focus on Sarkozy's war.